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Abstract

In this review we present some data about the use of mobile phones in medical practice. The results of over hundred studies cited in PubMed during the last few years have been discussed. The article gives background connected with a project in the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts referring to a personal mobile phone application named “Neurogame” which is currently constructed to evaluate motor skills related to attention and concentration in different samples of people.

Abstract

The potential use of modern mobile devices for medical purposes is huge. Digital mental health tools have mostly tended to use psycho-educational strategies based on treatment orientations developed and validated outside digital health.

The aim of this study was to test the availability of our own original app named “Neuro-game” for evaluation of reaction time in different neuropsychiatric patients. Reaction time is strongly related to the executive brain functions.

We showed that the average reaction time in neuropsychiatric patients compared with healthy people is not notably different. However, we found significant differences in total hits, total misses and total tries in the performances of ill persons.

The crucial differences in obtained scores are confirmed for age and gender issues.

The most important differences are found in the number of hits, misses and tries in the group of depressed, followed by psychotic and ADHD patients, while anxious ones showed pretty normal parameters.

All tested parameters are remarkably different for the epileptic group vs. healthy people.

The T-test for epileptic vs. healthy people showed noteworthy differences for total tries, total misses, and total hits, but the average time reaction did not differ significantly.

In comparison with other psychometric assessments, this approach by using mobile phones seemed more practical, available anywhere (not only in medical settings), less time consuming and quite interesting for all ages.

Abstract

Smartphones are ubiquitous, but it is still unknown what physiological functions can be monitored at clinical quality. In medicine their use is cited in many fields (cardiology, pulmology, endocrinology, rheumatology, pediatrics as well as in the field of mental health).

The aim of this paper is to explain how the use of mobile application can help clients to improve the index of their focus, concentration and motor skills. Our original developed application on Android operating system, named “neurogame” is based on an open source platform to enable assessment and therapeutic stimulation, focus and concentration with the ability to monitor the progress of the results obtained in a larger number of participants (normal subjects as well as patients with different disorders) over a period of time.

Whilst nowadays the predominant focus is on the pharmacological treatments, there is a rapidly growing interest in research on alternative options that will offer help in many cases of disorder management in terms of mobile application games.

In order to have some kind of “norms”, we evaluated a group of healthy population. Obtained results will serve as a database for comparison the future results. This article displays the results obtained as database.

Abstract

The ability to adapt to stress and adversity is a central facet of human development. Coping can be defined as a set of cognitive and affective actions that arise in response to a particular disquiet.

The aim of this research was to evaluate coping patterns used to mediate anxiety and stress level in two groups of patients: orthodontic and dental.

Psychometric instruments applied in the research are: Sarason’s anxiety questionnaire, Stress-test for children, as well as A-Cope questionnaire.

Obtained scores confirmed important level of anxiety, and moderate stress level. It was shown that coping mechanisms used for moderate stress and anxiety were productive and influenced the scores for the stress level and anxiety to be diminished.

As far as our knowledge is concerned, this is the first study for coping styles in children in our country.

Abstract

Introduction: Vision is the most important sensorial part of the human information system. Visual loss leads to reduced ability to perform routine activities of daily living and can be a risk for stable mental health.

Aim: The aim of this cross-sectional study is to assess the incidence of depression in patients treated in an ophthalmological outpatient clinic. To our knowledge this is the first study of its kind in our country.

Subjects and method: The number of evaluated patients was a hundred; mean age 41.6 ± 15.9 years, with different educational levels and common ophthalmological disorders. For the assessment of the level of depression the Beck Depression Inventory was used. Patients were divided into two groups: serious ophthalmological diagnoses where we expected psychological problems (N = 65) and the simplest ones (N = 35) as a control.

Results: Obtained results show that the levels of depression correlate with the diagnoses. Patients in the first group (serious ophthalmological diagnoses) showed moderate depression in 12% and severe in 13% of patients. It was shown that the most depressed were the patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, as well as glaucoma and cataract. The second group showed BDI scores of normal values. The level of depression is positively correlated with age and the level of education (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Depression is an important mental problem in ophthalmological practice. It is usually unrecognized and untreated. Depression could be the risk factor for treatment and prognosis of eyes diseases. Some measures for mitigation of psychological problems are proposed.